While bearing unexpected costs due to my own irresponsibility is tough to accept, it’s not even the most disappointing experience I have when reflecting on my history with tech.

As a self-proclaimed geek by nature, I have always been willing to drop money on gadgets, computers, video game consoles and home entertainment needs.

However, with the industry ever-evolving I find myself frequently upgrading my arsenal of tech goodies.

Whether it was upgrading my cassettes to CDs to mini disc to Apple Music or VHS to DVD to Blu-ray to Netflix, I have always stayed on the front foot of innovation.

While having new tech is awesome, it’s also reasonably expensive.

As a result, I often found myself selling outdated items, which I hadn’t lost or broken, in order to fund my nerdy needs.

While I admit hocking items at a garage sale or on Gumtree for $10 dollars here or $100 there was great at the time, but I’m not so sure I made the right decision.

This isn’t even to mention the stuff I just chucked in the bin.

Recently, I have begun to notice a resurgence in retro tech goods and it makes me sad.

Not sad in the fact that people are turning back to the good old days, sad in the fact I could have made a pretty penny by capitalising on nostalgia.

Don’t take my word for it though, have a look at some tech items you should take out of your cupboard, dust off and sell on eBay.

Got one of these gathering dust in your storage cupboard?Source:Supplied

VIDEO GAMES

Retro gaming websiteRacket Boy has trawled the depths of eBay and online forums to discover the small fortune your old video games can collect online. Here are some of the most popular titles and what they sell for:

FINAL FANTASY VII (BLACK LABEL): $47 — $350

As the second highest selling game on the PS1, you could be forgiven for thinking this game would not be worth a cent.

Yet, the game is still highly popular with collectors looking to complete their retro gaming collection.

In terms of worth, a sealed version of the original black-label version of the game will get you well over what you originally paid.

POKEMON RED/ POKEMON BLUE: $22 — $450

Attempting to capture all 150 Pokémon on your Gameboy was a solid way to spend time when you were a kid.

The RPG series provided hours of endless entertainment, but now it can provide some serious cash.

While the game was mass produced, boxed and sealed copies are starting to collect a mint from nostalgic adults chasing memories from the past.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: $300 — $500

Who doesn’t love Sonic the Hedgehog? The quintessential childhood game has had many popular reboots, but the original game from the Sega Master System is the one you want to own.

The only catch is you will need the North American version of the game to fetch money in the hundreds.

To determine if your game meets this criteria, look for a sticker barcode of the game, which will begin with “010008”

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING DX: $27 — $821

Again, this is not a highly rare game thanks to its mass production.

However, as this version was updated from the original for the Gameboy Colour, it is a popular release with fans of the series.

While loose cartridges of the game aren’t likely to secure you double digits, a sealed copy will see you flush with cash.

BATMAN FOREVER WOOLWORTHS BOX SET: $900 — $1300

If you were lucky enough to pick up the Batman Forever Limited Edition SNES box set from Woolies back in the day you could be in for a nice pay packet.

The only catch is you would have needed to ensure you still have the game, making of the game VHS, Batman diary and Batman sticker in the original packaging.

If not, you probably won’t reach the higher end of the asking price.

TETRIS: $3000 — $16,000

Before Nintendo got exclusive rights to Tetris, there was a Japanese Megadrive version of the game in production.

The game never actually saw commercial release thanks to legal threats from Nintendo, yet some people still managed to score a copy.

With only 10 copies known to be floating around, this game is highly sought after and the price reflects this.

The movie itself might not have been scary, but the price it warrants on eBay is.

VHS TAPES

Blockbuster video sales helped me build my collection, but if you were like me you probably got rid of your VHS tapes when DVDs hit the shelves. This way a bad move. Here’s why:

HALLOWEEN: $285 — $20,000

If you have an original media copy of John Carpenter’s Halloween on VHS, you best be making a listing for it online.

The storyline of the movie might be a little scary, but what a copy of the original VHS sells for on eBay is just downright terrifying.

A used VHS of the film, which “looks like a surprisingly good and clean print” was sold for $A440 after a bidding war on eBay between 13 different people.

The movie doesn’t look like losing any steam with a version of the film currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $A100.

STAR WARS EPISODE IV — A NEW HOPE: $15 — $157

As one of the more recent items on eBay, a VHS copy of the original 1977 Star Wars proved popular with collectors.

A couple of months ago, a “very rare” version of the film just sold for $A157, plus postage.

It just goes to show it might be worth doing a Google search of what your old VHS tapes might be worth before sending them to the dump.

Who would have thought a Walkman would be worth $2700?

OTHER BITS AND BOBS

WALKMAN: $40 — $2700

However, a super rare vintage Sony Walkman made in 1985 takes the cake.

The special edition Walkman — from the 25th anniversary of Sony being incorporated in the US — has been kept in pristine quality and is worth excess of $2000.

1ST GEN iPod NANO: $45 — $780

The iPod Nano was a huge step forward, with the device having a colour screen and being very thin, even by today’s standards.

If you were lucky enough to own one that you kept sealed, you could be reaping the benefits.

Currently, there is an iPod Nano on eBay looking to fetch $780.

APPLE 1: $385,000

The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 at a price of $900, which was very expensive for the time. Sure, this would have been a lot of cash at the time, but it’s worth a whole lot more now. At a 2013 auction in Germany, an Apple I sold for an impressive $A385,000.The computer was number 46 from a batch of 50 and included the original operation manuals, software cassettes, and shipping box.